1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus using a sealing member an article manufacturing method using same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the lithography process included in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and the like, a desired pattern is formed on a object to be processed via a lithography apparatus such as an exposure apparatus or a drawing apparatus that uses charged particle beam. In particular, drawing apparatuses and the EUV exposure apparatuses that are being developed as a next-generation semiconductor exposure apparatuses are also classified as vacuum processing apparatuses, because processing operations are conducted in a vacuum environment. In such apparatuses, the interior of a vacuum chamber is equipped with a support structure that supports a lens barrel containing a projection optical system or an electron optical system, an interferometer that measures various positions, and the like; or a stage which holds and moves an original pattern (reticle or the like) or a object to be processed (wafer or the like). When deformation of the chamber itself due to an air pressure difference between the interior and exterior of this chamber, or vibration from the floor surface or stage via the chamber is propagated to the support structure, various types of precision are affected. In order to suppress chamber deformation or vibration that could be propagated to the support structure, the chamber is supported on a base plate that is disposed on the floor surface with interposition of mounts (vibration-proofing mechanisms). In addition, support columns of the stage pass through apertures provided in the chamber without contact, and are directly supported by the base plate. Particularly in this case, it is necessary to establish the chamber interior as a sealed space, and to install sealing members (sealing mechanisms) that take into account the suppression of deformation or vibration that could also be propagated from these apertures. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-99723 discloses an exposure apparatus which adopts a bellows (extendable pipe) as this type of sealing member. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-340502 discloses a lithography apparatus which adopts a low-rigidity seal of a differential evacuation system as the sealing mechanism.
However, in the case where a bellows is used, as in the exposure apparatus shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-99723, it is possible that the support structure may sustain deformation or vibration from the bellows depending on the form of chamber deformation or the vibration transmission direction, because there is a high rigidity in the rotational direction around the axis that parallels the direction of extension or contraction of the bellows. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain a vacuum within a vacuum chamber in the case where a low-rigidity seal is used, as in the lithography apparatus shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-340502.